Magic in Boulder

By total surprise I ended up last weekend at Gangteng Tulku Rinpoche’s program in Boulder. The last time I met this powerful teacher was in Bhutan. At one point, Rinpoche said to us, “In Bhutan I never give teachings, I am mostly a building contractor.” It sound funny, but it’s slightly true. It’s a strange phenomenon: in Bhutan, Dharma teachings –as we know them in the west– are reserved for monks. Gangteng Tulku Rinpoche has spent much of the past decade organizing the renovation of his ancient monastery, and is now planning to build a shedra, or teaching college, for his students to study Dharma in Bhutan. He has also recently initiated the first three year retreat at the new Rigzin Gatsel retreat center in Bhutan. There is also a new on-line shedra for international students to study the dharma in depth with this great master.